A 19-year-old charged with stabbing his ex-girlfriend and leaving her paralyzed allegedly attempted suicide in the weeks before the attack, court records show.
Spencer Pearson, 19, has been charged with attempted murder after he allegedly stabbed 17-year-old Madison Schemitz, fifteen times outside a restaurant in Ponte Vedra Beach, Flordia in June
Pearson, who has pleaded not guilty to all charges, then allegedly attempted to cut his own throat, having apparently attempted to take his own life two months earlier in April and was admitted to hospital for five days.
His parents arranged for him to speak with counselors from a virtual mental health service named 'Here Tomorrow' after becoming worried about his mental health, according to a recent court filing by his attorneys in the case.
'Mr. Pearson saw personnel of Here Tomorrow on or about April 17,' the papers state.
Spencer Pearson, 19, has been charged with attempted murder after he allegedly stabbed 17-year-old Madison Schemitz, fifteen times
Schemitz and Kennedy Armstrong (left) who acted as a Good Samaritan and jumped in when he saw Pearson allegedly attacking Schemitz and her mother
Pearson and Schemitz had been broken up for months but he persisted in allegedly stalking her
'The evening after meeting with Here Tomorrow staff, Mr. Pearson attempted to take his own life, resulting in an inpatient hospitalization for a period of five days.'
Pearson met with representatives of the organization again on June 1, just two days before his viscous attack on the standout softball player.
Schemitz, a rising senior at Ponte Vedra High School was at Mr. Chubby's Wings with her mom, Jacki Roge, and friend Casey Estep on June 3 when they spotted her ex-boyfriend, Pearson.
Her mother had filed a complaint against Pearson for allegedly stalking Schemitz in the months after they had broken up.
Rogé said her increasingly spooked daughter said Pearson had been following her on her way to school, leaving notes on her car and harassing her on social media using fake accounts.
When the group left the restaurant, Pearson suddenly charged at Schemitz, police said.
Ambulance workers at the scene of the attack outside a restaurant on June 3rd
Schemitz, a softball star at Ponte Vedra High School before the attack in June
Schemitz's mom, Jacki Roge, was also injured during the attack that left her daughter paralyzed
Speaking about her recovery at a press conference in July Schemitz said: 'There's no looking back. Everything happens for a reason.'
A bystander Kennedy Armstrong, 23, intervened and pulled Pearson off Schemitz, likely saving her life.
Speaking about her recovery at a press conference in July, Schemitz said: 'There's no looking back.
'Everything happens for a reason. I'm incredibly lucky to be alive today and will take each day as its own opportunity to live and make a difference in the world.
'Moving forward I will be starting a One Love chapter at my high school, in hopes of raising awareness about the unhealthy behaviors in relationships.'
Adding: 'It will be a long and hard road, but I am determined and confident in myself that I will reach my goals to one day walk again... My story is just getting started.'